Here is one species of Suillus that does not always associate with conifers; it is often found under quaking aspen or big-toothed aspen, without any conifers in the vicinity. Salient physical features for Suillus subaureus include the orange pore surface; the yellow cap that develops red streaks and spots; and the ringless stem that develops glandular dots with maturity.

Snell & Dick (1970) theorized that fruitings of Suillus subaureus without conifers present were probably limited to areas "where white pines once grew." However, Baroni & Both (1998), noting that the mushroom's range corresponds to the range of eastern white pine and that Peck described the species in the late 18th century as associated with white pine, theorize that "[w]ith the disappearance of large tracks [sic] of white pine during the 19th and early 20th centuries, this Suillus succeeded in populating other habitats (aspen, mixed woods of yellow birch and hemlocks, etc.)."

Cap: 3-17 cm; convex becoming broadly convex or flat; slimy and yellow underneath scattered brownish to reddish, appressed fibers and down; often developing a reddish-spotted or streaked appearance; when young with a cottony to felty roll of marginal tissue that sometimes persists into maturity as an inrolled sterile margin. The cap stains waxed paper bright yellow.